Safe and Secure Wireless Networking
We recommend a few additions to your latest computer to make sure your information is safe. Firstly, if you’re using Windows, always use a high quality Anti-virus program, such as Norton (www.symantec.com) or McAfee (www.mcafee.com). You will also want to make sure your computer is up-to-date with the latest security packages. Usually, your laptop will prompt you to install these automatically, however you can also visit Microsoft’s update site (windowsupdate.microsoft.com). It’s also a good idea to get some anti-spyware software, such as Webroot’s excellent Spysweeper (www.webroot.com). Don’t forget to switch on your firewall too - these are usually built in now, but Norton do an add on one. It doesn’t take long to get these things up and running and the extra expense is certainly worth it, considering how much a new laptop costs and how much IT people can charge.
If you’re using a Mac, then you have little to worry about regarding viruses or spyware, but you should always make sure your Firewall is on. In Mac OS , you’ll find this in the Sharing pane of System Preferences. You should also make sure you always install the security patches and software updates that Apple recommend. You can force these by clicking the Apple icon in the top left-handside of the screen > Software Update.
Linux users, same goes as with the Mac users - just make sure your machine is up to date and that you have a firewall running.
When you’re surfing the net, you should always check that the sites you’re going to are legitimate and secured. The padlock icon on your browser window isn’t just to fill up room - try clicking on it next time you go to one of our WiFi Hotspots. You’ll get a message like the one below:
You should pay particular attention to these certificates when you’re sending confidential information over the internet or if you’re doing online banking.
Other threats are ‘phishing’ websites. Wiki have an excellent article about this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishin. I won’t go on about that too much here, just make sure you have a modern browser - we prefer Mozilla’s Firefox. You can download that for free here: http://www.firefox2.com/
It all sounds a little daunting I know, but it’s really no more complicated that ensuring you lock your house up everytime you leave, or keep your wallet in a safe place. We’ve tried our hardest to ensure our Hotspots are as secure as possible. Every login screen uses a high-grade SSL certificate (as described above) to make sure you’re details are safe. We use PayPal (www.paypal.com) for all our transactions because we know they’re one of the safest credit card processing firms around. You’ll also find site seals all over the place and best of all, we’re fully PCI compliant. This means we adhere to the most strict guidelines set out by the largest credit card firms around. See www.pcicomplianceguide.org if you’re interested. We are also Hacker Safe - a reputation we’re proud of. You can find us on www.scanalert.com!
That’s it for now! Be safe.
Simon Morley @ May 16, 2007